Children in England have improved dramatically against other countries over the past four years, moving into the top five in the world for science, despite the pandemic.

The success follows a raft of Tory curriculum reforms to push children harder to catch up with high-flying countries.

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: ‘These results are testament to the hard work of teachers and pupils but are also underpinned by a knowledge rich curriculum and high school standards.’

England’s science position, in the International Mathematics and Science Study, rose from 14th to fifth for those in Year 9 and from 12th to fifth for Year 5.

UCL Institute of Education analysis of the tests taken by 650,000 children in 64 countries said the results ‘reflect schools’ strong commitment to recovery.’